The ‘Allan Prize’ Essay Competition
The ITS UK ‘Allan Prize’ Essay Competition invites postgraduate students, studying a transport discipline, and early career transport professionals to submit an essay on a chosen transport technology-related topic, with the opportunity to win £750, receive recognition at a reception in Parliament, and a mentoring session with a leading industry figure!
What is the Allan Prize?
Our Allan Prize Essay Competition is the industry’s annual celebration of those just starting out in the sector. Each year, we invite early career professionals, (those within the first five years of their career in the industry, including apprentices), and postgraduate transport students to submit a 2,000 word essay on a subject related to transport technology and intelligent mobility.
The Competition aims to bring out the creative expression, originality, technical understanding and effective communication of the next generation of intelligent transport professionals and to act as a catalyst for new ideas and thinking in the sector. Often the newest, most profound ideas come from those just starting out.
Two winners are selected – one early careers professional and one postgraduate student – each of whom will receive a £750 prize, presented to them at ITS UK’s annual Parliamentary Reception, as well as a mentoring session with a leading industry expert. Plus, the winners will have their essay published by ITS UK and shared with thousands of members, giving them a fantastic head-start in their career!
There will also be four runners up per category, each of whom will receive £250 and an invitation to the Parliamentary Reception.
I’m really grateful to have my work recognised. This piece gave me the chance to reflect on how engineering can be more inclusive using insights from health data to help shape transport systems that better serve diverse needs
Esther Fobi, 2024/25 Early Careers Essay Winner
The Prizes
The Prizes will give each of the two winners a fantastic head-start in their profession – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
- £750 cash reward.
- A mentoring session with either Dr Joanna White, Roads Development Director at National Highways or Paul Campion, Chief Executive Officer at TRL.
- Your award presented to you at the ITS UK Parliamentary Reception, giving you recognition in front of your peers.
- Your essay published on the ITS UK website and circulated to the ITS UK membership.
- There will also be four runners up per category, each of whom will receive £250 and an invitation to the Parliamentary Reception.
Key Partners
2026 Topics
ITS UK’s 2026 theme for the year is: ‘Transport 4.0: Integrated | Inclusive | Intelligent’. The theme reflects how transport is rapidly advancing as the economy is transformed by the Fourth Industrial Revolution – with data, AI and connectivity becoming key components of how we travel.
Candidates are invited to submit an essay covering one, or multiple, of the three elements of the theme:
Integration
Inclusivity
Intelligent
Meet the Mentors
Each winner will have the chance to meet with one of our mentors and talk to them about how to progress their career.
Judging Criteria
The general criteria below are intended to act as a guide to entrants, but the judges will also exercise personal judgement when making their decision.
- Originality and boldness – the uniqueness of the essay’s argument.
- Relevance to theme – how well does the essay relate to the given topic.
- Clarity and articulation – how easy the essay is to understand and how clear the case is within it, with well-written pros.
- Evidenced and considered – how well is the essay grounded in research and what considerations have been made of cost, environmental impact and ability to implement, for example.
- Forward thinking, impact and creativity – reflects creativity, progressiveness and a futuristic outlook.
For entries from early career professionals, we’ll expect a greater demonstration of technical knowledge and understanding, than those from transport students or apprentices, along with industry reflections.
Entry Criteria
- Two prizes will be awarded, one for the best entry from an Early Careers Professional and one for the best Student.
- To enter the Early Careers Professional category, you must be within the first five years of your career in the intelligent transport industry. (this can be over multiple roles).*
- To enter the Student category, you must currently be a postgraduate student including master’s and PhD students. Undergraduate students may apply but should be in their final year.
- ITS UK will only accept one entry per individual.
- The word limit for each entry is 2,000. Entries over 2,000 words will be disqualified. Images, diagrams and graphs should be included within the essay body and will not contribute to the word limit.
- Entries should be the sole work of the author. Plagiarism or use of others’ work will result in disqualification. Evidence and arguments from other sources should be fully referenced.
* Please note, ITS UK will offer leeway for those a few months over the five years. You will need to notify ITS UK via email if this applies to you (contact@its-uk.org).
Last Year’s Winners
In 2025, the Best Early Careers Essay was awarded to Will Dismorr of 4Way Consulting and the Best Student/Apprentice Essay to Esther Fobi of Swansea University.
Esther’s essay covered the topic of “A Transport Network for All: Bridging Medical Data and Engineering to Create Truly Inclusive Mobility Solutions” and Will’s looked at “How do we ensure our transport network is ready for Net Zero”.
About The Allan Prize
The Allan Prize is sponsored by Smart Applications Management, in honour of Duncan Allan, a transport data specialist, innovator and ISAM wizard.